Scouting Shedeur Sanders: Colorado quarterback similar in style, skill set to Pro Bowler Geno Smith

NFL.com analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah takes a “first look” at some of college football’s top players for 2024. This is the first entry in a series of scouting reports that will run in July.

In the initial week of the previous season, Deion Sanders’ inaugural team from Colorado took the college football scene by surprise, defeating the strongly favored TCU in an exciting 45-42 game. Deion’s son, Shedeur, decimated the Horned Frogs, with an 81 percent pass completion rate and a total of 510 yards and four touchdowns, without a single interception. Following this, in the next two weeks, the Buffaloes triumphed over Nebraska and Colorado State, with the quarterback continuing his high-performance streak and becoming a contender in the Heisman Trophy race.

However, during the fourth week of the season, Colorado faced a tough challenge, suffering a 42-6 loss against Oregon. Sanders only managed to throw for 159 yards and was sacked seven times. The following week, they lost a high-scoring game to USC. The 2023 Buffaloes only secured one more victory, ending the season with a saddening 4-8 record after an initially promising start.

As we enter the second year of the Coach Prime era in Boulder, Colorado, the Buffaloes are transitioning into the Big 12 Conference. What can we anticipate from one of college football’s most prominent players this year? After analyzing Sanders’ game footage from the previous season, here’s my preliminary scouting report.

Height, weight: 6-foot-1 1/4, 198 pounds

2023 statistics (11 games): 298-of-430 (69.3%) for 3,230 yards (7.5 per attempt), 27 TDs and 3 INTs; 111 carries for -77 yards (-0.7 average), 4 TDs.

Game tape watched: vs. Nebraska (Sept. 9, 2023), at Oregon (Sept. 23, 2023), at UCLA (Oct. 28, 2023).

What I liked: Sanders is a pure thrower with a compact, smooth stroke. He has excellent balance and weight transfer upon release, possessing plenty of arm strength to drive the ball downfield. He can throw with timing/anticipation, and he’s adept at selecting the proper pace necessary for each throw.

Another stand-out attribute of his is toughness, which is clearly evident on screen. Even under pressure, he makes the conscious choice to stand his ground, willingly taking physical hits to ensure successful completions. In the three games I analyzed, he endured some significantly heavy blows.

Where he needs to improve: While I admire his willingness to exhaust every down, Sanders’ tendency to never give in and hold the ball results in far too many sacks. Some of these are unavoidable, to be fair. However, there are times when he tries to do too much, instead of dirting the ball and saving yardage. Stubbornness and aggressiveness aren’t the only reasons for these sacks, though.

Sanders doesn’t possess the ideal quickness or urgency needed to evade defenders and create space within the pocket – though this can be improved. Tom Brady, the G.O.A.T., serves as the perfect example, having managed to boost his performance in this area throughout his career despite his age. Currently, Sanders’ lower body movements are too monotonous; he needs to move with increased urgency.

Biggest takeaway: Sanders has the foundation in place to develop into a solid NFL starter. I love that he doesn’t throw interceptions. He sees the field well and can make every type of throw. He’s ultra-competitive and has been able to function while under an avalanche of attention and pressure. There are definitely areas where he can improve, but I like the tools combined with the mental/physical toughness.

Colorado indeed boasts a prime weapon on the outside – dual-threat star Travis Hunter. However, the remaining offensive lineup was disappointingly subpar in the footage I reviewed. The blocking on the line of scrimmage, including from the running backs, was particularly poor. Hopefully, there will be significant improvements in this area come autumn, which could help Sanders make significant progress.

He reminds me of: Geno Smith coming out of West Virginia. Like Smith during his time with the Mountaineers, Sanders plays in a wide-open college offense that showcases his polish as a passer. Both Smith and Sanders have beautiful throwing motions and deliver a firm/catchable ball. While each is capable of taking the free yards presented in the run game, neither is dynamic as a ball-carrier.

Following a long, rocky start to this NFL career, Smith blossomed into a Pro Bowl quarterback. I see similar upside in Sanders. As my Move The Sticks Podcast partner Bucky Brooks would say, both of these signal-callers are more shooters than scorers. They are point guards who play really well within the confines of the play call; they aren’t unscripted, creative playmaker types. It’ll be important for Sanders’ NFL team to realize how to best utilize his skill set.

I can’t wait to watch him play: at Nebraska on Sept. 7. I expect the Cornhuskers to be much improved in Year 2 under Matt Rhule. This game will be a good test to observe what these two programs look like in the second season of a rebuild. I’m really curious to see what the new Colorado offensive line looks like. Can you completely overhaul that group and find early success? We’ll find out.